


Her Bones Like Maps and Keys

by hungrytiger



Series: Eyes that Cannot See [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-29
Updated: 2010-03-29
Packaged: 2017-10-08 12:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/75699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hungrytiger/pseuds/hungrytiger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His mother walks with a distinctive limp. Neji-centric gen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Bones Like Maps and Keys

His mother walks with a distinctive limp. He can't remember her without it, a bad fall on a mission requested a mere twelve days after his father… After his father. It ended her career as a ninja. Every morning she walks (and it is a painful walk, no matter what she says) to the Hokage's office to request another mission. Not just any mission, but long term ones. Spying ones. Deadly ones. She bets on the value of her all-seeing eyes. It is a bet that always fails.

Neji has wondered if his mother wanted to die. He has since concluded differently.

His mother does not cook, does not sew, does not serve tea or tend the garden. She is disdainful of these tasks. Except for this walk, he does not know how she fills her days. So when he is thirteen, he follows her. It takes her one hour to walk to the office, be rejected, and walk to her next destination. An unremarkable building, the place sells cookware, of all things. How she even came to know of it, he couldn't say. A man greets her at the door with a smile open and bright, like nothing Neji could ever find on Hyuuga grounds. His mother returns the smile, a little shyly he thinks, and then she takes this man's hand. With his byakugan he can see this man usher her into the back and fifteen minutes later, the store closes for the day, though it is not yet past two. He releases the chakra and runs. What his mother was doing in the closed store remains a mystery, but only somewhat. She has never returned from that mission taken so soon after his father. She is still looking for her heart in any way she can.


End file.
